


Frost That Bites

by Vodid



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Multi, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-24 19:54:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22063498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vodid/pseuds/Vodid
Summary: A team of Autobots are stranded in the middle of nowhere and have to make it through the night in a snowstorm.
Relationships: Bluestreak/Sideswipe/Sunstreaker (Transformers), Jazz/Prowl
Comments: 11
Kudos: 105





	Frost That Bites

It was just their luck to get stuck out here in the middle of winter.

They had won the scuffle with the group of Decepticons, but not without complications.

“Nothin’.” Ironhide frustratedly threw his servo back down from his helm, no doubt only receiving static on his comms. “Do we even know where we are?”

“I do believe we are nearing a mountain.” Prowl frowned, unsure if he was right in his answer. They were definitely heading south, if the setting sun to the right of them was any indication. Clouds were beginning to move in, shielding the starry sky with the promise of snow.

While Cybertronians could withstand hot and cold temperatures, it was not ideal to be stranded in below freezing temperatures for a long period of time. Which was the exact predicament they were in.

Only seven Autobots were dispatched for this supposedly quick and simple mission, dropped off by Skyfire hours ago. Perhaps soon, it would be concerning for neither the SIC nor the TIC to have checked in with the Ark.

The alert given was that there were six Decepticons in the middle of nowhere, destroying the area.

Prowl should have suspected it was a trap - the fact he missed it will surely be emphasized by the twins, who are always looking for trouble, and would know why he missed it from how disheveled he and Jazz were running from their shared quarters - considering how suspicious the alert was. What business would the Decepticons have out here? It turned out to be a greatly planned ambush. Well, for Decepticon standards it was.

Prowl and Jazz at least brought along three of their best warriors; Ironhide and the Terror Twins, as well as Hound and Bluestreak. They each were skilled in their own way and easily fought back to defeat the ambush. They made a great team.

Likewise, if they were to offline out here, the Autobot forces would take a massive blow to their numbers and quite possibly the ability to win the war.

“Ugh.” Sideswipe shivered, walking directly behind Prowl. He picked up his pedes in an odd fashion with each step, bothered by the crunch of the snow. “We can’t stay out here all night, Prowl.”

The SIC flicked his doorwings in acknowledgement but did not give a verbal response.

“We’re about to lose the light, Prowl, we gotta find someplace to go.” Ironhide urges, glancing at the disappearing sunset. It was growing extremely dark, and with the dark comes dropping temperature.

Again, Prowl does not respond. Instead, his doorwings fan out, taking in his surroundings. He could sense the dropping temperature, the slight breeze from the west, but the cold was messing with his sensors with a sting. He could not “see” beyond the leafless forest they were wandering through.

However, after a few more steps, the SIC spotted a white strip of snow between the tall trees. There was a cliff face ahead, the snow from previous days settled upon it. Perhaps there was an area they could seek shelter from.

His team noticed when he slightly changed his path, following much more attentively.

“Where we goin’?” Ironhide muttered, staring at Prowl’s back.

The SIC twisted to see the weapons specialist, “There is a cliff face ahead, it will be our best bet for a place to seek shelter.”

They walked in silence through the snowy woods, the cliff not agonizingly far. Prowl, ignoring the cold biting his sensors, kept his doorwings splayed to monitor the position of his teammates, making sure none fell behind.

The ambush ended as quickly as it had started. Once each Decepticon had targeted the helms of each Autobot, it became rapidly clear that it was a trap they all fell for. Their comm. links were easily taken out by their enemies, but that was as far as they got with their goal. The Autobots swiftly recovered and won the fight.

Prowl doubted the Decepticons would give up however. He estimated they would be back tomorrow morning once the incoming snow lifted to finish what they had started. They clearly had a plan to take out the team of Autobots and were not going to give up so easily.

“The snow’s coming,” Hound notes, staring up into the darkening sky. Indeed it is, the dark clouds swallowed the sky and threatened to release its contents.

Each Autobot turns their gaze up to the clouds, frowning in worry.

Prowl continued on, they were at the edge of the forest. A small frozen creek split the woods and a clear area in front of the cliff face. It was easy to step over, only being a few feet in width.

They each approached the rocky wall. It was not that tall of a cliff, and snow was piled on it from above, slightly hanging over the edge. The SIC examined the cliff side, in their immediate proximity, there was no sign of an overhang or cave they could seek shelter in. Farther down, there seemed to be a curve to the cliff face.

It was very unlikely for there to be a cave on this cliff, there wasn’t much here to wear down the rock enough for that to happen.

Yet there it was, Prowl saw as he continued beside the cliff face and rounded the curve, a large overhang. It was a small dip in the cliff side, offering more coverage from the harsh weather to come.

It may not have been much, but he could detect the relief flooding the EM fields around him.

Sunstreaker curled his lip in disgust at the muddy ring that separated the snow from the stony ground under the small overhang. His brother pushed him forward, stating it was just one foot of mud he could easily step over.

Prowl shook his helm at the panicked flailing Sunstreaker did to avoid the mud, stepping wide so his pede ended up several feet clear of it.

Jazz hums, servos set on his hips as he examined the area. “Well. The good news is, we’re only exposed to the east n’ north-”

“How is that good news?” Sunstreaker cut in.

“-and the wind is blowin’ from the west.” Jazz eyes the golden warrior. He turns his attention back to the cliff. “Bad news? We got nuttin’ to keep us warm.”

“But each other,” Ironhide dreadfully says.

Prowl nods, “We will have to huddle in order to stay warm throughout the night.”

“No way.” Sunstreaker snarls, “My paint will get scratched!”

Jazz grins, “Good! Then ya can take first watch.”

A rev of an engine told them the frontliner realized that he had inadvertently volunteered to keep watch. Sideswipe hopped up to his brother, “Don’t worry, Sunny! I’ll keep you company.”

The yellow twin glared at his brother, but said nothing as he settled far away from the mud.

Ironhide hunkered down onto the cold stone, setting his back against the rock. “Ugh. I been walkin' for too long today." His knee was sparking occasionally and surely his neck cables ached like the rest of theirs.

Prowl watched as the first few snowflakes began falling. They seemed so innocent, yet could be dangerous in large quantities. The Decepticons absolutely knew this snowstorm would happen and possibly made it their plan B for getting rid of some Autobots.

“Primus, well now I know why it’s called frostbite,” Bluestreak said, grimacing as he rotated his shoulders and sunk his doorwings. He splayed the panels in discomfort. “It literally feels like something cold is biting my sensors. Although I don't think our parts can turn black and die like an organic's can. But I really don't want to find out...”

The other Praxian approached Bluestreak and brought a hand up to rub away the feeling. His younger brother's doorwings felt dangerously cold, the hinges and cables could freeze overnight and crack in the morning. They had to be careful.

“Go settle down and make sure energon is making it to your doorwings,” Prowl directed, nudging his brother to where Ironhide had picked his spot. He then nodded at the twins, lowering himself next to Bluestreak and Ironhide, whose helm was already bowed. "I will relinquish you for second watch."

The red mech beside Bluestreak raised a digit, "Ah'll take third watch." And he was out.

A silence swept over the Autobots as they each got as comfortable as they could in the cold, even with the wind pushing the incoming snowstorm away from the cliff face. They shivered but not all were ready to have to squeeze together for warmth.

Jazz however had no problem sidling up into Prowl's side, the SIC welcoming his mate with an open arm. Jazz's own arm lazily slung over Prowl's waist, his helm resting upon warm chestplates.

The Praxian shifted, his cold doorwings stiff and ached behind him.

Jazz used his other servo to rest upon his mate's back, rubbing at the innermost plating to the doorwings and warming the cold cables underneath.

Bluestreak leaned over to rest on the shoulder of Prowl from the other side. The SIC let his own helm drop a little, his chevron touching his brother's.

Hound was sitting on the opposite side of Ironhide, but he did not look the least bit relaxed enough to recharge, and opted to stay online.

Trusting the twins to not be stupid while keeping watch, Prowl sagged in his position. He was as tired as the rest of them, but could not fall into recharge for he was worried about the wellbeing of his team. As SIC, he felt he was responsible for them.

With his mate and brother in his arms - Jazz only online enough to continue his caresses on Prowl's back and Bluestreak soundly in recharge - he at least knew they were safe. Ironhide's sparking knee was concerning, but was still functional and did not need immediate medical attention. Sideswipe took the most damage, but even his injuries were not severe.

Prowl offlined his optics. If he was to take second watch, he needed a little rest. Even resting his optics was enough. His doorwings' sensors were on high sensitivity, feeling the calmed sparks of his teammates.

"Your spark is racing." Bluestreak said, keeping his voice low. He did not lift his helm or online his optics, but flicked his doorwings in concerned inquiry.

Prowl took a deep vent to try to calm his spark. "Yes."

Jazz's digits upon his back slightly increased in their pressure, and his visor dimly lit.

Before he could say anything, Prowl rested a servo on his mate's helm, thumb rubbing the edge above his visor. "Do not worry over me. Get some rest."

Jazz incoherently grumbled a few words but his servo slowed, and Bluestreak's doorwings flicked in what can be translated as a weary "you too" gesture before he was in recharge like Prowl originally thought.

The twins' conversation kept low gave Prowl something to listen to, but not hear. He did not process the words being said, only the sound of them.

The wind rustled the bare trees nearby, occasionally knocking down snow. He could not visually see the trees through the snowfall, but his doorwings picked up on the movements.

He felt his systems start to cycle down, and let them. Recharge slowly dragged him down...

"Prowlie!" He woke with a start, optics struggling to focus quickly on the red form in front of him. "It's your turn!"

In what felt like a shutter of an optic, the four hours of their watch had indeed passed and it was time for Prowl to take over.

Primus, he was exhausted.

"Guess you can just watch from where you are, huh?" Sideswipe teased, noting the two mechs recharging on either side of Prowl. The red twin had a cheeky smile as he sat next to Bluestreak, a little too close for Prowl's comfort. Sunstreaker silently joined him after obsessively examining the ground for anything that could ruin his paint.

The SIC narrowed his optics at the red mech, but otherwise left him alone. The twins had been showing an interest in Bluestreak, and Prowl kept them away when he was nearby.

Was he being a bit protective? Yes. Bluestreak was and always will be his baby brother, even if he was a fully grown Cybertronian.

Would he stop the twins if Bluestreak reciprocated? No. But as far as Prowl knew, his brother did not show interest of his own.

He vented, rubbing his helm. He needed to keep watch, not think about his brother's love life.

With his doorwings' sensors being affected by the cold, Prowl unfortunately had to rely mostly on his optics and audios to keep watch.

He did not think it could get any colder than it had before. He'd been sorely proven wrong. Even with two mechs hugging either side of him, he was still ridiculously cold and started to shiver.

The snowstorm was getting heavier, snow slowly piling up and creeping closer to their positions against the overhang's wall several yards away.

Hopefully the Ark would notice the unusual comm. silence from the team and send backup soon. Preferably before the Decepticons decide to come back, which will most likely be once the snowstorm passed.

Despite it being night, the snow hurt to look at. It seemed very bright to Prowl's optics, so he shuttered them. He could feel a helmache coming.

He could not keep his optics shuttered for long though, he realized as snow from a tree fell, startling him. Anything could sneak up on them. Prowl had to keep watch.

He had to keep watch.

Yet his optics kept slowly offlining, only to be onlined again with a start before he fell into recharge.

Prowl shifted. Cold was settling into his joints.

Jazz was jostled a bit, and mumbled a few words before his visor lit up in confusion. Then he shivered. "Primus! It's cold!"

"Indeed." Prowl frowned at the snow. The wind was still blowing it away, but it did not stop the freezing cold from reaching them. He could see frost settling itself upon their plating.

"You doin' alright?" The TIC asked. He straightened his position, having sagged against his mate during recharge.

Prowl nodded. "I am doing fine."

Besides that terrible feeling in his helm.

He ignored the concerned and disbelieving look Jazz gave him, and instead had his optics set on the snowstorm. The mud ring was covered in snow, but it would have been frozen at this point. The bare trees were no longer visible. The small creek was just barely a dip in the snow.

"Aight. I can't do this anymore." Ironhide vented, and hefted himself up. "But I ain't getting close to the twins."

The two would have snickered if they were online as Ironhide moved himself to sit close behind Jazz for warmth.

Prowl wouldn't have wanted to snuggle with the twins either, so he and Jazz welcomed Ironhide.

The SIC glanced to where Ironhide originally was, and saw Hound in recharge. "Do you think he is cold?"

"Of course he is." Ironhide scoffed. "Online 'im and tell 'im to get over here."

"Hound?" Prowl would have pinged him if his comms. weren't down. Even his short range comms. were taken out. Besides, he doubted Hound was in a deep recharge out here in an exposed and cold space. "Hound."

True to his thoughts, the green mech onlined and looked over at the SIC. "Yeah?"

"Get over here, mech." Ironhide grumbled. "Yer gonna be what the humans call a popsicle by morning!"

Hound nodded. His frame creaked as he got up, grimacing. The mech had been stationary for too long. Prowl feared something would crack from the cold as the scout moved.

"Still wanna be like a human, Houndie?" Jazz teased, watching as Hound sat in between Jazz and Ironhide's legs.

He gave Jazz a smile, then leaned to rest his back on his friend's leg. It was a small amount of warmth for the mech, and Prowl worried it would not be enough.

The SIC just barely stayed warm enough from Bluestreak and Jazz, he couldn't imagine how cold the others are.

If they did not have each other, or this small overhang, they would have frozen up in recharge, fallen into indefinite stasis lock, and possibly be lost to the Autobots. It was a scary thought.

Prowl resisted the urge to twitch his doorwings when they detected movement. It was snow falling from a tree. It did not need to be investigated further by his doorwings, he told himself, relaxing the appendages.

"Ironhide, how are you faring?" Prowl noted the slight tremble to the mech's frame.

"Real cold." He grumbled. "Got a bit of a helmache too."

Taking his servo off of Jazz's backplates, Prowl gestured Ironhide closer with an open arm. "It will only get colder."

With that, he shifted closer. Jazz gave no reaction, possibly back in recharge, as the red mech leaned up against them. Hound squeezed in closer, no doubt colder than the rest of them.

Prowl glanced at the twins who were still next to Bluestreak. Sideswipe was in between Blue and Sunstreaker, the latter barely touching his brother. He had to be cold, but he showed no signs of it.

As much as he may hate the twins for all the damn pranks they pulled, Prowl still cared for them. They were their best frontliners, and kept up morale.

The SIC rarely thought about who he commanded, but after the Ark crashed on this planet, their numbers were small and he became familiar with his subordinates. He grew fond of them.

Again, Prowl stopped his doorwings from twitching when they detected snow falling.

In battle, Prowl sent many of his orders to the twins. They'd typically get themselves in trouble or Prowl would redirect them where they'd be the most useful. It was hard to command them at first, they were loose cannons and thought they were better off doing their own thing, but the three have learned to work together.

Prowl had to be more familiar with the twins and how they fight than any other mech under his command.

For the umpteenth time, Prowl's doorwings picked up movement from the forest. However, it was not snow falling from a tree, but a-

He jerked forward, throwing the mechs off him as laser fire struck the wall. His team was groggy and disgruntled at first, but were quickly alert and battle ready, weapons out and aimed towards the lifting snowstorm. The Decepticons returned sooner than Prowl expected.

"What the frag, Prowl? I thought ya were keepin' watch!" Ironhide snarled, firing into the forest that was becoming more visible as the storm passed.

"I was." Prowl grunted, the low temperature putting strain on his movements as he positioned himself to fire. He felt lighthelmed with how fast he reacted. "I detected them too late."

His numb doorwings were putting him off balance, and he could not detect the location of his opponents. They were well hidden in the snow and trees. How were they able to see them?

Perhaps they couldn't. Only one out of the many shots fired have hit an Autobot. Ironhide snarled as a laser grazed his shoulder. Mostly cosmetic damage, Prowl noted.

"If they cannot see us, then they will not know if we have relocated." Prowl stated, firing back wherever the shots originated from.

"But we'll be out in the cold," Sideswipe complained.

Hound nodded. "We're already cold. They're not."

The SIC grimaced as a laser flew by too close to his helm for comfort, the flash of it burning his optics. "We have no other choice if we wish to get out of this unharmed." He paused in his firing. "Jazz, you can hide yourself in the snowstorm to get behind the Decepticons and ambush them. The twins can follow you from a distance and strike when you're ready."

"Gotcha."

Bluestreak approached the twins and gave them both a quick peck. Prowl certainly caught that and almost glitched right then and there. His little brother knew he was watching, and had no shame as he wished the twins luck.

Jazz nodded to the twins, and they slipped off into the storm. Prowl knew they were cold, but this plan had the highest chance of success. Firing back at the Decepticons until they've shot down all of them will take too long.

Besides, Prowl favored offensive tactics over defensive. He liked a quick victory.

Without comm. links, it was hard to tell the position of Jazz and the twins. Prowl could only tell through the bond that Jazz was moving farther away and that he was tired and anxious but determined.

Primus, he couldn't believe his brother was actually in a relationship with the twins, and was able to keep it hidden from him. Prowl shook his helm, he should think about this later. Here is not the place nor time to.

"Okay. Let's go." Prowl gestured for the rest of the team to follow him, holding fire as to not reveal their positions. The SIC relocated his team several yards away, and it made all the difference. The Decepticons continued to fire where they previously were. "Jazz and the twins need to act fast before the Decepticons realize we moved."

They cannot return fire, or else they might hit the rest of their team whose positions were unknown.

Out of habit, Prowl flared his doorwings in an attempt to "see" beyond what his optics could, only pain shot through his sensor net, sending static into his vision and hearing. He grunted. His doorwings had frozen.

"Prowl? What the frag was that?" Ironhide's voice came from above him. Right. He fell onto his knee when blinded by the pain.

Bluestreak's servo rested upon his shoulder. "Prowl? What's wrong? Are you injured? Did a Decepticon get you? You seemed fine back there, or maybe it was from yesterday's battle when they ambushed us. Do you need a med-"

"I'm fine." Prowl croaked, picking himself up from where he collapsed onto the ground. "How are your doorwings, Bluestreak?"

"'Fine' my aft." Ironhide muttered.

Bluestreak looked confused. "They're okay? They ache a little bit, they're cold and I can hardly get any feedback from them but they're okay."

"Good. Don't move them." Prowl knew that was a lot to ask of his expressive little brother, but if he were as cold as Prowl was, moving his doorwings could bring him down to the ground as well.

There was a shout from the trees, and the laser fire was redirected. Prowl could hear the twins' laughter as they fought.

"Should we go help them?" Bluestreak asked.

Ironhide laughed. "With the twins wreaking havoc? Nah, kid. They're fine."

With Jazz and the twins taking care of the Decepticons, he could rest a bit. Exhaustion caught up to him, his frame feeling heavy. He lowered his weapon and set a servo against the cliff face. He shuttered his optics tight. The bright snow burned them and worsened his helmache.

Primus, he felt terrible.

He was too caught up in his misery to register the sound of an approaching engine.

"Is that ours or theirs?" Ironhide looked up, watching for the aircraft. "Prowl- frag, mech, what's wrong with ya?"

"I'm fine." Prowl stated, yet maintained his position against the rocky wall.

Hound let out a vent in relief. "It's ours."

"Skyfire?" Prowl asked, trying to look up but his vision slightly out of focus.

Ironhide smiled. "Yep. It's Skyfire and reinforcements. And hopefully a medic for your stubborn, lyin' aft."

The SIC ignored him. Reinforcements were good. He let himself be slowly brought down by gravity, and settled into a crouch, servo still bracing him against the cliff face.

"Over here!" Ironhide called out, flagging down the mechs exiting Skyfire. The SIC cringed at the volume and the pain.

The Decepticons called a retreat. Who was there and how many, Prowl did not know nor care.

"Prowl needs a medic," Bluestreak said, worry clear in his voice. It sounded like several mechs were approaching them. Prowl desperately wanted to collect himself, make himself look presentable, but the lighthelmedness kept him down.

"Get him to Skyfire," Ratchet ordered. "Primus knows it's too cold out here to do anything."

Prowl was helped up, but he waved off his brother trying to assist him in walking. He could walk to Skyfire. It was only... really far away. Prowl shook his helm and leaned into Bluestreak, who was more than ready to help him.

The walk felt like it took ages. Cybertronians lived a long time, things happened in the blink of an optic to them, but this felt longer than anything Prowl had ever experienced before. He counted how many steps he took, but lost track after fifteen. Fifteen too many. Why was he suddenly so weak? Bluestreak was supporting most of his weight by the time they reached Skyfire, and he could hear the concerned voice of his mate but did not have the energy to listen.

Finally, they loaded up and left the snowstorm behind.

* * *

Prowl laid miserably in the med bay. He really could have been more careful during that snowstorm.

His cables and port on the back of his neck had been exposed, thus freezing over and giving him a cold-induced virus. Ice had formed _inside_ his data port despite it being securely covered.

He wasn't alone. Ironhide had also picked up the virus, though less severe.

Jazz sat beside him on the berth he laid on, a servo running over his pounding helm. "And to think the one most concerned 'bout us bein' affected by the cold would catch a virus himself."

"Do not start." Prowl curled up, the base of his chevron resting against the side of Jazz's thigh.

His lover simply smiled down at him, and continued his soft caresses.

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompts "Cold" (7/31/19) and "Sick" (8/2/19) ...yes I got sick August 1 and decided to incorporate that into this lol  
> "Cold" was actually the second drabble I ever did! Really happy that it went from a 100 word drabble into this and all I had was the idea of the Autobots huddling to stay warm.


End file.
